Elizabeth Bruenig: Chronicler of the Human Condition / Interview with Ryan McAnnally-Linz

Elizabeth Bruenig (New York Times) joins the podcast to discuss the ethical and theological commitments that underlie her political and cultural commentary; work, labor, and employment; and how to be opinionated and very online at a time when most Americans are afraid of what other people think of their beliefs.

Show Notes

• “If you’re someone who sits between two well-defined ideological modes, it's going to be hard to find your place in the order of things”
• “What lets me sleep at night; what do I really believe is good and true?”
• What is a Catholic socialist?
• What does a Catholic socialist think about work? How we can be suspicious about the importance of work?
• Speaking ones mind comes with fear in today’s world 
• The difference between a ‘take’ and reporting
• "I'm a chronicler of the human condition. This is also my explanation for why I retweet really bizarre stuff that I find”
• How understanding the character of God relates to an understanding of justice
• “Why be out there online? Does your faith have anything to say about being in that space?” 
• Bringing your following to your publication
• “A friend of mine once said that there are two types of stupid in the world, there's happy stupid, and angry stupid. And I'm totally fine with happy stupid. It's the angry stupid stuff that's frustrating”
• Cancel culture
• “They shouldn't lose a job or whatever or be unable to find new work because of the wrong politics they have. That's a core tenant of liberalism”
• “I don't fight with people on Twitter... I don't swing at every pitch” 
• How we equate work and employment 
• “Are there ways you're re-evaluating work from a theological perspective in this moment?" 
• John Hughes, The End of Work: Theological Critiques of Capitalism 
• “The types of work we do in modernity, especially, are alienating. And this is about 20,000 times as true for working class people”
• The childcare problem 
• “People have felt like I'm either a poor Catholic or a poor socialist, and I'm absolutely certain both of those things are true, but I’m doing my best”
• What got her here?
• A study of Christian theology centered on Saint Augustine, and a study of the Christian approach to private property
• “I put two and two together”
• Eugene McCarraher, The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity 
• “I'm not terribly thrilled about the prospects for the American Left at the moment”
• Joe Biden and candidacy for the Left 
• How are you trying to live faithfully in this moment?
• “What I've been trying to do is find a little bit more courage, be a little bit more sympathetic, be a little bit more compassionate”
• “Living faithfully is morally performing the task in front of you every day at this point”
• Giving others the leeway you would want
• Dorothy Day and finding the devotional life right where you are: "the devotional life has to be here"
• “I have an embarrassment of riches in terms of my husband, my kids, the opportunities I have with my job. These are all beautiful things that God has given me, and I didn't earn them. I don't deserve them, but I'm grateful for them”
• The idea that people who aren't working don't deserve money or security: “Everybody deserves the capacity to live a dignified life”
• “When it comes to the necessary things for living a dignified life, I don't think 'deserve' has anything to do with it"